H.E.L.P. Makes Dreams a Reality for Orphans in Malawi

Over one million children in Malawi are without a parent, a home, and an education. Peruvian Connection has joined the efforts of H.E.L.P, a nonprofit organization, to make it possible for these children to make their dreams a reality, by providing Hope, Education, Love and Protection. Malawi is one of the most poverty stricken countries in the world, with the majority of its 12 million inhabitants living well below the poverty line. Malawi is currently ranked 164 out of 177 on the Human Development Index, due to the devastating lack of clean, safe water, primary health care, primary education, and sustainable food (meaning it’s the 7th poorest country in the world).

The H.E.L.P organization was founded in 2006 by Jillian Wolstein and her family with the ultimate vision of carrying out their mission on a global level. Currently, H.E.L.P is focusing their efforts on the destitute community of Malawi with projects that include Nutritional Education, Life Skills Class, Libraries, Day Care, Drama Club, Water Hyacinth, Providing clean, safe water, Wound Care Clinic, Malaria Nets, and much more. It is through donations and sales of merchandise that H.E.L.P is able to collect the much needed funds for these humanitarian projects. Sales of our Fetish Bead Necklaces, Malawi Wood Bangles and Fetish Bead Bracelets will directly fund these aims. 100% of the funds collected by H.E.L.P will go to direct services. Together we can all continue to make a difference in the lives of children faced with a suffocating barrage of daily challenges.

One of the most foundational feats H.E.L.P has achieved is the construction of a full primary school and health clinic. The traditional open-aired rural school in the Balaka district of Malawi was transformed into a well-equipped primary school with eight classrooms, seven teachers housing units and latrines. Originally, the Nanthomba Primary School nurtured 320 students, but thanks to generous donations and support, this number has risen to over 750 students. H.E.L.P provides training for teachers, which has contributed to the rising educational standards for the area. In the future, this school will have the resources needed to allow H.E.L.P to provide a nutritious breakfast to students every morning, including a generator, fruit orchard, livestock and storage facilities. H.E.L.P is also hoping to build another secondary school in the near future. These goals will be achieved if we work together in the effort to bring hope and education to Malawi children.

The Wound Care Clinic, which was also established in 2006, serves the teachers, students and even the local communities. The clinic is currently able to treat wounds, infections, illnesses and diagnose urgent needs that will require hospitalization. H.E.L.P has set goals to construct a fully-equipped healthcare clinic and maternity wing that will provide vital medical care. Without this clinic, the closest health care facility is 3-4 hours away by car. This new maternity wing will help reduce the astounding maternal death rate by providing a safe, healthy delivery. Malawi has the third highest maternal death rate in the world. Recent statistics show that 1, 120 mothers and 4, 200 babies die for every 100,000 births.

This new healthcare development will also serve as an approved HIV/AIDS testing and treatment site, which has increasingly ravaged African communities over the last couple decades. Currently, over 14% of the Malawi population is living with HIV/AIDS, which includes 641,000 children (of which 550,000 are orphans) and 500,000 adults. For more detailed information about the heath-care services that will be provided, please visit www.helpchildren.org. With each donation, they are one step closer to opening the new facility and reducing these heart-breaking figures of death and disease.

In an effort to raise support and awareness of this charismatic foundation, Peruvian Connection is offering a selection of H.E.L.P products, including the Fetish Bead Necklace and Fetish Bead Bracelet. These products use hand-crafted beads that have been collected from the African trade markets. Culturally, African beads are used as repositories of ancestral wisdom and tradition. Each bead is not only unique, but contains a piece of African history. We are also offering the Malawi Wood Bangles, which are entirely hand-carved by African master carvers. 100% of the proceeds collected by the H.E.L.P foundation will be directed towards education, healthcare and relief in Malawi.

Please join Peruvian Connection and the H.E.L.P foundation in the journey to spread Hope, Education, Love and Protection to the children of Malawi. If you would like to donate to the cause directly, please visit www.helpchildren.org. Little contributions will bring big changes: $5 will buy a life-saving mosquito-net to protect against malaria, $20 will buy three baby blankets and $50 will purchase much-needed school supplies for 25 local village children. Your generosity and support will help now and future generations for years to come.

2 Responses to H.E.L.P. Makes Dreams a Reality for Orphans in Malawi

We have had the priviledge of looking at beautiful African trading beads in our local beading store for years. I used to go in the store and marvel at the history while touching them. In the past 15 years the strands have become so expensive that I no longer buy them. I knew the wrong people were making the profit. Good for you guys to make yet another connection.

I highly commend Peruvian Connection for its humanitarian efforts in third-world countries. This very moment, my teenage daughter is in a remote village in Ghana, fulfilling her fervent desire to do volunteer work in Africa. She spends each day at an orphanage similar to the ones described here. The children she befriends have been deprived of parents through maternal death during childbirth, through AIDs or other diseases, or through simple poverty.
Despite their overwhelming challenges and poverty, however, the Ghanians she has met have substantial pride in their own culture and maintain strong values that include deep and caring attitudes toward one other. I wish that many in our country would adhere to those same values. Such cultures deserve encouragement and support, whether through purchasing (and cherishing) the unique items that incorporate their longstanding traditions and/or through a direct contribution. Thanks again!